While the NIV and RSV mention the name Zedekiah in Jeremiah 27:1, some versions, including the King James, have Jehoiakim. It is obvious from Jeremiah 27:3 that this should be Zedekiah. This is obviously some kind of error.
Most scholars believe that some ancient copyists copied the first verse of the previous chapter here by mistake. Such errors are very rare. It is fortunate that in Jeremiah 27:3, which tells us that Zedekiah was the king at this time, we are able to connect with Jeremiah 27:1.
There are several occasions when the prophets of God did some pretty crazy things in order to get their prophetic message across. Micah rolled in the dust, Micah 1:10, or even in the mud and screamed like a bird, Micah 1:18.
Isaiah went barefoot and naked for three years, Isaiah 20:1-4. And here Jeremiah is told to wear a yoke around his neck, Jeremiah 27:2, and he did so in front of the king of Judah and representatives from five foreign nations, Jeremiah 27:3.
This chapter speaks of the yoke of Babylon, and the nations named in Jeremiah 27:3 are warned of this yoke. An ox yoke was for two animals, and this contraption would have been very uncomfortable to wear for Jeremiah. Not only that, but he must also have looked like a hideous figure in front of the king, dressed like this.
Jeremiah is to charge them to give their masters a message from God, Jeremiah 27:4. So, what is the yoke? Jeremiah’s message is clear: God rules over all, Jeremiah 27:4 / Daniel 4:25. God has given Nebuchadnezzar the other lands, and it was God’s right to do so.
After all, says God, ‘I made the earth and its people,’ Jeremiah 27:5. God reveals Himself as not only the Creator and Sustainer of all that He created but as Sovereign Lord and controller, Jeremiah 27:5-7 / Acts 17:26.
He is the God of history who has His hand firmly on all nations, not just Judah. So, God expected the inhabitants to fall into shape, to knuckle under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, Jeremiah 27:7.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Jeremiah 27:7.
‘And all nations shall serve him, Nebuchadnezzar, and his son, Evil-Merodach, Jeremiah 52:31, and his son’s son, Belshazzar, Daniel 5:11. All which was literally fulfilled.’
Think about these verses for a moment, think about how God uses evil men to bring about His purposes.
Henry, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The things of this world are not the best things, for God often gives the largest share of them to bad men, men who are rivals of God and rebel against him. Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, wicked man, but he had world dominion by divine right. He was a very bad man, but God called him his servant. If God so uses and rewards evil men who serve him, however unwittingly, how much more wonderfully will God reward and honour those who love God and truly serve him!’
God would pay a visit to those who wouldn’t submit to Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 27:8, and again, we see two options for them here.
1. If they don’t submit to Nebuchadnezzar, then they will be taken away, Jeremiah 27:9-10.
Even where Judah is concerned, their attitude is strange. It would seem better to serve as a freedman than a slave. Each nation is told, Don’t listen to your wise men, your magicians, and your prophets, Jeremiah 27:9 / Deuteronomy 18:9-13. Judah was not the only one to say this won’t happen to us.
Other nations had their own false prophets saying that it wouldn’t happen to them, but it would, Jeremiah 27:9-10. Time and time again, Jeremiah says these false prophets have led God’s people astray, Jeremiah 2:8 / Jeremiah 5:13 / Jeremiah 5:31 / Jeremiah 14:13-15 / Jeremiah 23:13-16 / Jeremiah 23:21-31.
2. If they do what God says, then they can stay in their own land under Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 27:11.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Even at this late date, it seems that Judah would have been spared going into captivity if it hadn’t been for Zedekiah. If he had led the people to accept God’s word and faithfully serve Nebuchadnezzar, things could have been different. But it was Zedekiah’s rebellion against Babylon that led to the total ruin of Jerusalem and the temple, 2 Kings 24:20.’
God wants to know from Judah, Why will you choose to die? Jeremiah 27:12. That is the message asked of Zedekiah personally. Why die, instead of acknowledging Nebuchadnezzar? Jeremiah 27:12-13.
Jeremiah repeats for Zedekiah the same message that accompanied the yoke when Jeremiah spoke to the representatives of the five other nations, Jeremiah 27:2-3.
Serve the king of Babylon, Zedekiah, do not listen to the false prophets and false teachers of other nations, they are only prophesying lies, Jeremiah 27:14-15 / 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Jeremiah now turns his attention to the priests. The false prophets of Judah were saying that not only would things be good in the land, but the vessels taken from the temple would also be returned, Jeremiah 27:16 / 2 Kings 24:10-13 / 2 Chronicles 36:7-10.
There’s no doubt that Jeremiah was brave because he not only told these false prophets, magicians, etc., Jeremiah 27:9, that they were liars, but he also told them, as it is, to their very faces, Jeremiah 27:16.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Jeremiah 27:16.
‘They shall not be restored till I bring them up, Jeremiah 27:22, which was after the captivity, when they were sent back by Cyrus, the Lord inclining his heart to do it, Ezra 1:7 / Ezra 7:19.’
Jeremiah tells the people not to listen to these false prophets and encourages them to obey God by serving the king of Babylon, this way they will live, Jeremiah 27:17. He asks why should this city become a ruin? Jeremiah 27:17. In other words, this is all about choice.
He also challenges them to plead with God and tells them that they were not only lying when they said that the temple vessels would shortly be returned, but that the remaining vessels would also be carried to Babylon, Jeremiah 27:18.
The remaining treasures of the temple were taken, Jeremiah 27:19.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Two brazen columns placed by Solomon in the pronaos or portico of the temple, eighteen cubits high, and twelve in circumference, 1 Kings 7:16-22 / Jeremiah 52:11. The brazen sea, ten cubits in diameter, and thirty in circumference. It contained water for different washings in the Divine worship, and was supported on twelve brazen oxen. Perhaps these are what are called the bases here, 2 Kings 25:13 / Jeremiah 52:17 / Jeremiah 52:20-21.’
The king’s house, the people, and the contents of the city of Jerusalem would also be taken, Jeremiah 27:20. We are also told that the vessels would not be destroyed in Babylon and that God would restore them to Jerusalem in due course, Jeremiah 27:21-22.
God says, through Jeremiah, the exact opposite of what the false prophets were saying. More than that, even the vessels that are still left in the temple will be taken to Babylon, Jeremiah 27:21-22. They would be the spoils of war.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Jeremiah 27:22.
‘They did not submit, and the prophecy was literally fulfilled, Jeremiah 52:17-23 / 2 Kings 25:13 / 2 Chronicles 36:18.’
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A hundred years before the birth of Jeremiah, Isaiah promised the ‘return of the remnant,’ Isaiah 10:21. I guess he proved the prophecy by calling one of his sons, ‘a remnant shall return,’ Isaiah 7:3. Would Jeremiah have known about that promise? Of course, he would. So now was a good time not only to mention it but add to that prophecy an additional prophecy, Jeremiah 27:22, God would return the treasures of the temple.’